The invention relates to Wi-Fi communications from 2400 MHz to 2500 MHz. The phase-matched coupled-resonator 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi antenna is a communications device designed to improve signal strength between computing devices and a router or hotspot, without any additional hardware.
Related technologies consist of external antennas that require an extra Wi-Fi adapter card and an RF cable to bypass the embedded antennas in a laptop computer. Also a standard exists for Near Field Communications that uses magnetic induction at 13.56 MHz to establish a link across a distance of up to 1.5 inches.
The invention functions by shaping a beam of 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi signal and delivering the signal bidirectionally and without delay to the embedded antennas of a laptop or mobile device. In this manner the output of the invention is in phase with the incident signal and the gain will be additive. Other 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi signals outside the beam will be received with normal signal level from the forward direction. The ability to superimpose in-phase signal gain upon the Wi-Fi uplink and downlink for selected hotspots is a unique feature of the invention.
My first prototype used a short section of 300 Ohm twinlead transmission line between a pick-up loop and the antenna that was trimmed to an electrical length of 1.77 wavelengths to synchronize the phasing. Without this phase match, the RF gain boost was not recognized by the Wi-Fi tuner in the laptop. A later prototype proved that I could sync to the incoming signal without any delays if the RF energy from the antenna could pass directly to the embedded antennas in laptops, essentially keeping pace with the RF traveling through the air. Simplifying the prototype to remove the transmission line and distribution lines to bring the antenna body up against the lid of the laptop solved this issue.